


I'm Addicted To The Way I Feel When I Think Of You

by alltimeblow



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Pack Feels, a hell of a lot of pack feels, again i'm sorry for the fluff, also children, and a wedding, and breakfast, breakfast happens a lot, just a damn lot of fluff and domesticity, like i didn't think i could write fluff and then this happened and i apologise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-08
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-14 07:03:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/834083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltimeblow/pseuds/alltimeblow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles and Derek have their own family in the form of the Pack and this is how they got there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Addicted To The Way I Feel When I Think Of You

**Author's Note:**

> Title Credit: Fame - Infamy by Fall Out Boy
> 
> I can't apologise enough for this ridiculous amount of badly written fluff but whatever i hope you enjoy it!
> 
> If there's spelling mistakes or some part doesn't make sense then please tell me; it's 2:20am here so i'm not in the right mind for re-reading all of that and checking it - just writing this note is somewhat difficult. there are parts of this that i'm not particularly fond of and i don't think i've written character as well as i would have liked but life goes on.

It was never going to be easy for them; for the whole of the pack. Some days it was really difficult for them all to work together and then there were days where it was just as easy as breathing, they’d fit around each other like a puzzle, they’d be so in tune with each other. 

\------

Something’s wrong with Erica. Get here. Now.

Derek wasn’t great with words at the best of times but this left Stiles panicking as soon as he heard the ‘new text’ tone play from somewhere in his pocket. He dug it out as he greeted his dad and rummaged through the fridge, making sure everything was accordingly healthy. 

“What the fu-” 

“Stiles.” 

“Uh, sorry. Just, Derek told me to get to the house, apparently something’s wrong with Erica.” 

The Sheriff knew by now. Hell, they hadn’t been great at hiding it anyway - there were only so many nights he could come home with blood on his shirt and apparently the excuse “at least it’s not mine” wasn’t cutting it. “With Erica? But, she can’t get sick or anything, she’s... you know? She must be injured pretty badly if she isn’t healing or...”

“Wolfsbane. She might have- But that’s silly- Where would she- Dad, I gotta go,” He bro-hugged his father and grabbed his car keys as he jumped out of the house. If he had his friends’ weird hearing he would probably have been able to hear his father’s “be safe” as he drove away quickly from his house. 

Stiles was practically out of the car before it was even stationary and off. “Where, oh my god,” Stiles wasn’t the most fit human ever and fuck, he hadn’t been sleeping well. “Where is she?”

“You called Mom? Oh my god, you assholes!” 

The ‘mom’ comment was ignored and Stiles looked around the front room to see Isaac and Derek sitting on the sofa, wide-eyed and looking scared. Which was weird because it was Derek and he had that whole “Big bad Alpha” thing happening with his eyebrows and that stubble and-

Now was not the time. “She sounds pretty fine to me.” 

“She is not okay. She kept pushing Isaac away and she wouldn’t stop shouting and fuck, we are werewolves okay, we don’t need people shouting at us. Dammit Stiles, would you please go and fix her?” 

Derek looked angry and tired and that was going to be Stiles’ next problem, he thought as he raced up the stairs. The Hale house was really quite breathtaking after the renovation with the huge wooden staircase and the bright beige walls and bookcases and shelves and it was a home, and Stiles loved that. Erica’s door was next to Isaac and across from the bathroom, Stiles knocked on the wooden door before slowly opening it, seeing Erica lying on her bed, watching something on the laptop. “You look absolutely fine, were they exaggerating?”

“I can’t believe they called Mom. I can’t come home and slam a door like a normal teenager and not have to deal with all that bullshit pack affection?” Erica’s tone was angry yet Stiles knew she didn’t mean anything; yet, it still didn’t stop him from flinching when she called the pack affection ‘bullshit’. 

“Why do you insist on calling me Mom? Erica, you can come home and you can slam all the goddamn doors in this house and if you’re still not happy then you can come to my house and slam all the doors there. But you do not get away with calling our love ‘bullshit’, just because we’re pack doesn’t mean we’re going to tolerate you being a brat.” 

Erica actually smiled right there and then. “I love you, Stiles. Oh my god, I love all of them so fucking much but I just need some time. They don’t have to experience the full moon and their period okay? But thank you for not putting up with my shit like that. You’re the best, I was really rude to Isaac. I knew I was being rude but Isaac’s such a puppy he’ll just walk away and try not to get angry at me.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and joined her on the bed, “If I hug you are you going to rip my throat out?” She shook her head so he wrapped his arms around her. “You know we love you too. Just tell them to leave you be when you get all flustered and they’re too much, okay? I know they can be too much but they’re just trying to show you they care.” The blonde nodded and snuffled closer into Stiles’ side. 

“I call you Mom because you care like a mother, you know? You look after all of us and Derek will always rely on you when it comes to Pack. Always. You’re always going to be the one he calls when he’s out of his depth with stuff like this. Stiles, after two years of this, he’s still new to being an Alpha and he’s going to screw up and he’s just really hoping that he doesn’t screw up with you too.” 

Stiles’ breathing hitched because this wasn’t something the Pack talked about; the weird connection/relationship/thing that Stiles and Derek had because they worked well together but it was never acknowledged. Stiles seemed to have a thing for people way out of his league and that suited him just fine, he never had a chance with them and that seemed better than fooling himself into thinking that they’d actually return his affections. 

Derek was the one that transitioned Stiles from Lydia to his big “oh my god am I bisexual?” realisation. After two years of being part of a guy’s pack and working with said guy and no advances being made on either person’s part, it kind of got a guy’s hopes down. 

“I’ll stop calling you ‘mom’ if you want but, I like it. You’re not just a human in the pack, okay? You’re the one who looks after us and will always worry when we’re out and will always hold us when we get back because you care and I don’t want it any other way. You’ve carved yourself a place.” 

Stiles bit his lip and lied down with Erica attached to his side. Isaac had crept into the doorway and Stiles motioned for him to join, to which he complied. “Sometimes you’re more of a parental figure than needed, but you’re always so proud of us and happy and it’s what we need. You’re what we need, Stiles. You’re important.” 

“I love you guys.” Stiles ignored how his voice broke and he closed his eyes because he wouldn’t cry in front of the pups, he wouldn’t. “You can keep calling me Mom, but I’m not going to start wearing an apron and cleaning the house.” 

“Deal,” Stiles smiled as both betas answered in unison. Boyd came into the room and sat next to Erica, running a few fingers through her hair. He nodded at Stiles with a small smile and that was enough for him. 

“Derek, you can join, you know.” Isaac said into Stiles’ shirt, a smile playing on his lips. “We can all hear you.” 

A weight pushed the mattress down by Stiles’ feet and he felt a hand on his calf, cracking his eyes open and he saw a mess of black hair by his hip, on Isaac’s thigh. “Best family ever,” Isaac snuffled into Stiles’ side and Stiles let out a little sob. Leaning down, he placed a kiss to the top of the the beta’s curls and ran his fingers through his hair. 

“You got it, kid. Best family ever.” Derek looked over the mass of limbs at Stiles and gave a small smile. Stiles wiped his eyes and Derek frowned a little as he saw the teen’s tears. “Okay, so Erica, what do you want for dinner? Isaac, can you ring my dad and tell him to come round for some decent food please?” The betas all dispersed, even Boyd. “They’re good kids.” 

Derek moved up to sit next to Stiles who was still lying down. “She’s right, you know. About all of it.” Derek sounded like he was defeated, like he was trying to hold this all in forever so that he didn’t screw this up because it’s better to bury it deep down then there be a chance you’ll do it wrong, according to Derek Hale.

Stiles sat up, rubbed his hands over his face and smiled at the Alpha, “I know, Derek. I know, we’re going to be fine.” He stood up and Derek’s hand reached out and grabbed his wrist but his eyes didn’t leave the spot on the bed where Stiles had been. Stiles just leant down and kissed his temple because this was what they were doing now. “This isn’t just for them, Derek. Don’t ever think-” 

Derek just tugged on his wrist, lightly and sighed. “I don’t know how to do this, any of this. Thank you for-” He stood up and took Stiles’ other wrist. “Thank you for being here for the past two years.” Stiles nodded and reached up to hug the guy because that was what normal people did when things got emotional and Derek was a werewolf, they were totally into cuddles and sniffing and contact. 

“I’m going to be here for more than those two years. Can’t get rid of me that easily, Der.” And then he ducked and kissed Derek’s jaw because he wasn’t taking this further than Derek wanted, he refused to because Derek was still punishing himself for things that happened when he was just a little boy and Stiles wasn’t going to damage him further by them falling in love in the space of a week and ruining everything they’d worked towards over the past two years with the pack and the house and just everything. 

“Mom, can we have spaghetti for dinner?” 

Stiles let out a shaky laugh and leant backwards as Derek laughed a little and rested his forehead on his shoulder, “You can have whatever you want, sweetie.” 

There was silence and then Derek huffed onto his skin, “She says thanks.” Stiles rolled his eyes and tugged a wrist out of Derek’s grasp to run it through his hair, “And that you’re the best, and that you and Dad should probably come downstairs before Isaac burns the spaghetti because apparently that’s something only our pups can do.” 

\------

Stiles’ eighteenth birthday was kind of a really big deal for him. Derek had made it abundantly clear that they would wait to start any real solid relationship until they were both adults and that was fine, Stiles understood why.  
Stiles knew about Kate and about how twisted she was, it was something he really didn’t like to bring up, but he had made Derek see that he wasn’t the one that killed his family - he didn’t know what was happened and he shouldn’t have known, he was completely clueless and blameless. Derek was not an enabler in Kate Argent’s crime, he was a pawn that she played deviously for her own sick pleasure.

He waited for Derek, let him make the first move. He’d veered away from most of the guilt but it still lingered there on bad days where he’d hate being around other people because he thought he’d ruin whatever kind of Pack they’d created. Derek didn’t trust himself not to fuck up and he didn’t trust others not to guide him into doing so. Stiles coerced him into Pack training on those nights, where the boy knew it was best for him to be out and realising how cared for he was and how genuine their Pack was. Derek wasn’t in a position to be doubted anymore, he was loved and appreciate and damn, he still couldn’t quite grasp that properly. 

However, his 18th birthday was also kind of a big deal because Stiles had been waiting to be an adult his entire life. So that birthday he got to take the day off of school because his dad actually got a normal shift off for his son’s birthday and Stiles was taking that as the best present he ever got. He got to make breakfast and lunch for his dad and then spend his Friday night getting shitfaced (hopefully) with the human side of the Pack. 

Breakfast consisted of french toast because screw it, it was his birthday so yeah his dad was allowed to have a treat. “Wow, you’re sure making the most of this, I wasn’t even allowed french toast on my birthday,” The Sheriff smirked as he took the plate gratefully. 

“Oh shut up and appreciate it while it lasts,” He smiled despite his words. They ate in silence, his Dad reading the paper and Stiles smiling as he got to see his dad look content with life. 

Birthdays were kind of a bittersweet thing in the Stilinski residence; it was like congratulations on being a year older with a mix of one more year that your mother didn’t get to see. It was difficult and Stiles knew that he’d probably end tonight by getting emotional - drunk or not. His dad would probably make some comment about how proud she’d be and Stiles would give him a small smile and they’d hug and his dad would clear his throat and say something about how he had to get to work. 

They watched some television together, old reruns of a show they watched years back. The Sheriff gave Stiles some money (“For college or your Jeep or whatever, don’t let it just sit there, Son.”) and some DVDs that he’d asked for, along with an external memory big enough for the bestiary and Stiles thanked his dad and they hugged. “You’re kind of the best, you know that?” The Sheriff just ruffled Stiles’ short hair and rolled his eyes. 

“I know, kid. Okay, my turn to cook.” Then he disappeared into the kitchen and when Stiles went into check on him he saw a steaming pot of pasta in a tomato sauce on the table; mom’s specialty dish. “C’mon, dig in.” 

And they did, and they sat and they told stupid stories about his dad’s work and about the Pack. Stiles told his dad all about what happened with Erica those months ago and about their Saturday Pack time and Stiles invited his dad because he loved him and he was considered Pack - even if he didn’t get withdrawal symptoms - because he protected the people in the Pack and that was enough. Stiles loved his dad, he was continuously grateful for his dad. He constantly tried to get him to eat more healthy and he always hoped that he’d return through the house’s door when he left because he was the Sheriff and it wasn’t the safest job in the town. 

Stiles knew his dad knew all of this and he also knew that he was worried about his son because his son was actually running with wolves. He knew that being part of the Pack was probably the safest thing for Stiles; he was cared for, he was looked after and he had people that could protect him. 

“That was great, thanks, Dad.” 

“I say this every year but damn, Stiles. She’d be so proud, she’d love the Pack too. I think maybe she’d even like Derek, too. She’d definitely love Isaac. I am proud of you, son. I am so proud, you’ve grown up to be a proper adult. Hell, you’ve practically got your own family. Sure, you’ve had some uh, run ins with the police and definitely some bad times at school but you’re a great person, Stiles. I love you, kid, okay? I gotta get going but have fun tonight, stay safe. Go to the House and hang out and don’t do anything illegal.” 

They hugged and Stiles sniffed and acted like he didn’t want to whine and complain and spend the rest of his day with his dad, curled up on the sofa like he was six years old again. “I love you too, Dad. Thank you. Just, thanks. And I will; no illegal practices tonight!” 

The Sheriff had the door opened and turned to narrow his eyes, “I meant don’t do anything illegal ever, Son.” 

“I’m not making promises I can’t keep!” Stiles shouted and his dad was out of the house but he knew he heard. 

Stiles drove to the Hale house and found Derek sitting on the sofa, watching tv. “Well, if it isn’t the birthday boy,” Derek mocked but still stood up to hug him. “How was your morning with your dad?”

“Weird but nice. It’s always a little difficult, you know? He’s probably going to be here next Saturday, sorry if that’s not okay. He said she’d like you. Sorry, I shouldn’t-” 

“I hope she would. She seemed really lovely, I spoke to her a few times when I was younger. Anyway, I got you a little present.” Derek looked uncomfortable and it was fine with Stiles because discussing his mother with Derek, who lost his whole family, on his birthday was not at the top of his list of things to-do. 

“Is that what you’re calling your penis now?” 

“Stiles!” Derek scolded from the kitchen but the teen couldn’t help from laughing as he returned with a pink tinge to his cheeks and ears. “Here.” He thrust the small packet at Stiles, who took it out of the bag. “I thought you’d like it, I asked Isaac and yeah.” 

“Oh my god is this that photo?” 

It was a photo of Derek and Stiles asleep on the sofa with the betas and Lydia and Allison sitting around them. It was about a week after Isaac got his camera for his birthday and he was taking photos of everything. All Stiles really remembered from that night was waking up and hearing Isaac cheer and Erica say, “Congrats on learning how to use the timer.” 

Stiles never got to see the actual picture until now. Stiles was tucked into Derek’s side and had Derek’s arm wrapped around his shoulders. The betas were all placed around the back, front and sides of the sofa with dopey grins on their faces. Lydia sat on one sofa arm and Allison on the other. If Stiles and Derek had been awake it would have looked like a legitimate family photo and Stiles loved it. The frame that Derek put it in was wooden and painted a glossy black. It had silver hangings on different sides of it and Stiles carefully ran his finger over one of them. “It- uh, it.” Derek growled and pulled Stiles upstairs. 

“You’re a big boy, Der, use your words.” He was ignored until they reached Derek’s bedroom, somewhere that only Stiles had been and that was only twice. 

“Shut up. It, it just-” He took the photo frame out of Stiles’ hands and pointed at the three photo frames on the wall opposite his bed. One was of him and Laura in New York, another was an old Hale Pack photo and a more recent one was a Saturday morning photo of Stiles cooking and Derek nearly sleeping in the kitchen. “They-” He tried to compose himself and in a truly Derek ‘actions-speak-louder-than-words’ Hale fashion he clipped the photo frame onto the end by the kitchen one. The clips were so it all connected and Stiles practically melted right there because Derek was letting him in, he was letting him have some kind of significant space in the house - in his room. 

“You bought me a photo frame for your wall...” Stiles said, absolutely stunned that Derek was being that coy about it all. 

“When you say it like that it sounds stupid,” Derek grumbled, looking embarrassed. 

“No! No, thank you, Derek. It’s really lovely, okay. Maybe someday I’ll get to wake up and see that wall with a hell of a lot more photos on it, or at least that’s what I’m hoping,” Stiles said as he hugged Derek. He got a small kiss to the top of his head and Stiles knew that he would get to wake up and see that wall. He knew that right now this was the beginning because Derek wasn’t rushing, not this time. He’d done that once and messed up his whole life and Stiles understood why taking things slow was what Derek wanted. 

Scott and the rest of the Pack got to the Hale house when school let out and Jackson bro-hugged him and gave him a bottle of vodka, Scott gave him a bottle of whisky and Lydia and Allison handed him a cake. “Do I even want to know where you got the alcohol from?” 

“A shop, Stiles. Don’t be stupid,” Jackson was still grinning though as they all stood in the kitchen. 

“You are not drinking all of that tonight, hell you’re not even drinking half a bottle tonight, Stiles,” Derek muttered as he passed him, giving the bottles of alcohol a dirty look like they’d personally offended him. “I do not want you passing out tonight. Any of you.” 

“Danny’ll be here in an hour.” 

Stiles ran his hand down Derek’s back because Danny wasn’t entirely Pack and Derek was uncomfortable with anyone non-Pack in his house. It was understandable. “So, are we going to settle down and watch films and let the humans get drunk off their asses?” Erica looked around the room for agreement and flounced off to prepare a stack of DVDs. 

“You are not drinking that vodka straight, get some damn cola.” Stiles rolled his eyes but followed the Alpha’s orders because he was letting them get drunk in his house.  
Danny brought shots and somewhere after his fourth vodka and coke and sixth shot, Stiles’ memory got a little hazy. He remembered watching Lord of The Rings and then Erica pleaded that they watched The Breakfast Club. Then Scott put on some action film and that’s where Stiles’ memory kind of faded. Allison was already pretty far gone by then, sitting on Scott’s lap and whispering in his ear about how he was such a ‘pretty puppy’. Lydia was the next to go and she ended up sleeping next to Jackson, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, fingers playing with her hair absentmindedly. Danny was kind of just sitting with the guys, not drinking so much because he had to get a ride home and get in without disturbing his parents a lot. 

Stiles remembers sitting in between Erica and Derek but Erica moved during TBC to get closer to the television - and Boyd, Stiles suspects. He remembers kissing Derek’s cheek and thanking him for his ‘awesome house’. He sort of remembers grouching during the action film because he doesn’t particularly like them. He remembers telling Derek that he thought his mum would like him too, and then spending the next ten minutes hiding his face in Derek’s chest to calm down. 

Then the film ended and... Stiles fell asleep before they could start the next one? He vaguely remembers slurring that they should probably just watch Star Wars because it’s the “fucking shit balls”. Then it’s just blank. 

He wakes up on Saturday morning, glad that he’s got this Saturday off because pack bonding was obviously last night. Except he isn’t in the front room, or in Derek’s bed. He’s actually pretty sure he’s in Erica’s bed, without Erica he thankfully notes. There is a note on the pillow next to him though and Stiles gets this stupid smile on his face when he sees it’s in Derek’s writing. He lies down and shields his eyes from the sun because he had a headache; just a headache, it was definitely not a hangover (because he didn’t drink last night, or at least that’s what he tells his dad when he finally gets home.)

He lifts the piece of paper up and reads it through squinted eyes. 

Put you in here last night because I didn’t think that’s how you imagined waking up and seeing that wall for the first time. Maybe next time, Stiles. 

PS - you drool when you sleep. 

“I do not.” 

\------

Saturday mornings were probably the best thing that had ever happened in the Hale house since the new pack. Stiles would let himself in at 9am and drink coffee with Derek in the kitchen whilst Isaac would watch television through bleary eyes in the front room. 9:30am signalled that it was time for breakfast to start being cooked and between then and 10am, Erica and Boyd would come downstairs and caffeinate themselves. 

By 10am most of the food was cooked and Scott would come round after picking up Allison. Lately, Jackson and Lydia would stop by too more often than not because they had their place in the pack, no matter if Jackson didn’t especially enjoy having someone be his superior but that was okay because everyone knew that deep down he did enjoy having a pack to fall back on. Lydia was glad that she could be herself around the pack even though sometimes her and Erica would snark at each other. People at school had slowly accepted her to be somewhat normal after the whole prancing around the forest naked stint she did but she didn’t really stand out that much and sure, she was invited to parties but she still freaked out when there was a lot of people around her sometimes. 

So, breakfast on Saturday morning in the Hale house was possibly the best thing. The tradition started a couple of months after the Alpha pack had caused their storm in Beacon Hills and the pack didn’t get to spend as much time together as they were used to because nothing life threatening was occurring every week. 

They were getting antsy with the separation; Scott, Isaac and Jackson became less focused during lacrosse practices and games; Erica would snap at people and usually end up in detention; Boyd would sit and glare at anything that moved; Lydia wouldn’t be able to sleep and it made her slow and pissy; Allison didn’t change much but she did try to push Scott away and she ended up in a lot of arguments with her father and Stiles? Well, Stiles reacted by vibrating under his skin, his ADHD bit him so bad those weeks where he hardly saw the Pack. He couldn’t sleep but being distracted and jumpy all day made him tired so he’d look like death. Derek just became more broody than usual, ignoring people and throwing more things than usual. 

It wasn’t pretty for anyone. It was also something that couldn’t continue because Isaac got into a fight at school and Lydia threatened to blow up a science lab. So, Stiles came up with the idea of breakfast on a Saturday because then the Pack could do whatever they wanted in the afternoon but normally they just broke off into groups to hang out and it was good for them. They got to spend quality time together and catch up and it was good for them, it was healthy and it was a stable thing in each of their lives.

About two months after Erica’s meltdown about being a girl and needing some space, the Sheriff started joining the pack when he wasn’t working. About a month after that Derek and Stiles finally got their shit together and were taking baby steps in their relationship; nothing really changed that much except Derek could finally relax around Stiles more and they both were blatantly obvious with their attachment to one another. 

“Morning, snookums,” Stiles drawled as he let himself into the house and took off his shoes. Walking in further, he saw Derek sitting at the kitchen’s island in some low-slung sweatpants and a baggy wifebeater with his hair all mussed and his eyes glossed over. Derek turned slightly and gave him a sleepy smile and a whisper of ‘hey’. Stiles walked past him, kissing his temple because he was allowed to, especially in the mornings. Derek would wake up early but he’d lounge around in the mornings like no one’s business, he was easy and quiet in the mornings - allowing things to run their course. 

Derek reacted by hooking an arm around Stiles’ middle and nosing at his collarbone, pressing a light kiss there. 

“Oh ew!” Isaac stopped in the doorway and shielded his eyes. “Guys, c’mon. It’s early.” 

“Sorry, forgot we couldn’t mentally scar the kids before breakfast,” Derek deadpanned, reaching up to kiss Stiles’ jaw. “Morning Ise.” 

“Mmm, morning,” He mumbled, running a hand through his hair and scratching his stomach. “Tea, tea, tea, tea... tea!” He muttered to himself as he tried to remember where things in the kitchen were situated through the haziness of his slumber. 

Isaac left the kitchen after his tea was made and Stiles watched as he cocooned himself on the couch with blankets and switched the TV onto some cartoons. “And to think he’s nearly twenty and not ten,” Stiles mused. “We decided last week on scrambled eggs this time, right? And Scott wanted pancakes instead of waffles?”

“Jackson and Allison wanted pancakes, Scott and Isaac want waffles. Erica, Lydia and I wanted some of those potato things you made a couple weeks back and I also want bacon. Lots of bacon.” Derek practically had his face against the cold marble of the worktop as he told Stiles the order for this week’s breakfast. 

“Pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, potato chunks, bacon, toast, orange juice and, oh crap what else?”

“Fruit.” Derek supplied and pointed to where he thought the fruit bowl was, apparently it was somewhere floating by the door so Stiles moved his arm so it pointed in front of him. “’S morning, I’m bad.” 

The teen just rolled his eyes and finished writing the list for breakfast. “Go back to bed if you’re still this tired, Der.” 

Derek waved a hand, nearly knocking his mug over, “Nah, I like watching you cook, ‘s nice.” Derek sat up and rubbed his eyes, “‘M awake, we’re good.” Stiles just laughed and kissed the top of his head as he started to make the pancake batter. “Your dad coming today?”

“Yeah, he got the morning off, said he missed having breakfast with the kids. I think Scott’s mum’s coming too.” 

Derek nodded and went to make himself another cup of black coffee. “I like her, she’s nice. Reminds me of Laura sometimes when she gets snarky at Scott.” That was something that Stiles always loved about Derek now, those little offhand comments that he’d make referring to his past in such a casual way even though he knew that it was because he trusted Stiles and it was nice, knowing that Stiles was probably the most trusted person in Derek’s life. 

The batter for the pancakes and waffles sat on the side in their bowls and Stiles had recruited Derek to cut some fruit up. He wasn’t handling it well. “Stiles, how do you do this every morning? I think I’ve cut myself about five times so far.” 

Stiles shrugged and went back to seasoning and cooking the small cubes of potato that he’d chopped, “Doesn’t matter, you’re a werewolf, you’ll heal. Quit your whining.” 

“I’m still tired, it’s still morning, I’m allowed to whine. Scott and Allison just pulled up.” Stiles turned to look out the kitchen window like he didn’t actually trust his boyfriend. He heard Erica shout at Isaac to open the door and he retaliated by pushing her off the sofa. It turned into a mini wrestling match in the middle of the front room and Derek just growled. “Scott let yourself in, our pups don’t have any manners.” Derek was talking at a normal level but Stiles heard the front door creak open and a shout of “Hey!” from the front room (where the wrestling match had turned into them just sticking their tongues out at each other). 

Derek pushed the bowl of fruit into the middle of the kitchen island and put the knife and chopping board into the sink. He stopped at the stove and wrapped his arms around Stiles’ abdomen, “You okay, sourwolf?” 

“Mmm, just hungry, smells good.” He peppered the back of the boy’s head with light kisses. “Lydia and Jackson just drove up the drive.” Stiles nestled back into his chest and leaned his head onto his shoulder. He heard Boyd open the door for the couple and ignored it as Jackson walked into the room and complained about their PDA. “My house, my boyfriend, my rules, Whittemore!” Stiles laughed and turned around in Derek’s hold. 

“Sit down, I gotta start on the waffles and stuff,” Stiles murmured against his chest. Derek ignored him and got the waffle machine out of the cupboard and the frying pan they used for pancakes. “You wanna do the pancakes, mister?” 

Derek had shown Stiles his talent of cooking pancakes when Stiles had complained about being hungry one night while they watched a film and Derek hadn’t gone shopping in a couple of weeks so he made pancakes. Stiles sort of just sat there and moaned in a very pornograpic way as he devoured the whole stack. Derek just sat there and stared as Stiles licked his fingers and moaned, it was kind of hard not to. The Alpha refused to actually make the pancake batter because he didn’t want Stiles sitting there moaning with the rest of the Pack, and his father, present. 

“Sure, which ones the pancake batter?” Stiles pointed to the right bowl and they worked side by side making stacks of food. “Guys! Come set the table!” He didn’t need to shout for most of the front room to hear him but he did so anyway and shared a small smile as he heard them all filter in and do their respective jobs. 

“Sheriff’s here,” Erica announced as she gathered plates from the cupboard above Stiles. Lydia and Allison set out the cutlery and glasses on the dining table around the back of the house, sufficiently big enough for the whole of the pack to eat around. Boyd made cups of coffee and took them in with juice to the table, while Jackson and Scott brought in the bowls of food. 

“Jackson, here’s the pancakes and waffles.” Stiles handed the boy the food and he took it without complaint. 

It was weird how Jackson didn’t really complain when Stiles bossed him around like this, Derek liked to think it was because he respected Stiles and his place in the pack and that he appreciated having some kind of stern figure in his life who wouldn’t put up with his shit any longer. Jackson wasn’t close to his parents in an emotional way and sometimes Derek noticed how Jackson would hold on tight when Stiles hugged him goodbye or how he smiled when Derek and Stiles were acting more parental than usual. 

“Scott, take the potatoes. Derek, take your boyfriend.” Derek reacted by pushing Stiles gently against the cupboards and kissed him. “I meant take me into the dining room, you horndog.”

“Was that a dog joke, Stilinski?” Derek gruffed against his ear but Stiles just rolled his eyes. 

“Thought you were hungry, sourwolf?” 

“Erica says that they’ll start without us if we don’t hurry and your dad says that this is where we prepare food and we’re animals.” 

Stiles blushed bright red and walked into the dining room as Derek trailed after him, chuckling under his breath. “Dad, no bacon for you. Eat plenty of fruit. Hey, Mrs M!” 

“Oh wow, hi to you too, son.” The Sheriff groused from his seat, sending his son a glare as he piled fruit on top of a waffle. 

“No, no pleasantries for you, Derek was the only animal in the kitchen and I would appreciate it if you refrained from the werewolf jokes.” 

Derek snorted - which, by the way, should have been wholly unattractive but just seeing him happy was fucking addicting - and pushed Stiles down into his seat as he took the chair next to him at the head of the table, across from the Sheriff at the other head of the table. “They all heard you make the dog joke, Stiles. Don’t preach what you can’t practice,” Erica quipped from the other side of the table as Isaac giggled. 

“Your pack sucks, Der.” 

“Oh please, you love us,” Isaac crooned and stuffed a piece of waffle into his mouth. Derek rolled his eyes as he piled bacon onto his plate along with potato. 

“Yeah, Mom, you love us,” Erica echoed. 

Derek bumped his knee against Stiles’ leg, “Yeah, Mom. And they’re our pack.” 

Stiles threw up his hands in exasperation, “Whatever, Pops. Shut up and eat your food.” There was a huge smile on his face despite his words because it was their pack. 

“Ah, happy families,” Scott’s mum smiled around the table as all of them dug into their food. 

\------

College was always going to be a really big issue with the Pack because apparently they couldn’t stand to be away from each other and semesters were a longer period of separation than they could handle. The figured that since they all had some kind of family issue that it made the Pack more valuable, more cherished. It sounds sweet but it came with the negative effect of not being able to stay away. 

Stiles was nearing nineteen and already had solid reasons to stay near/in Beacon Hills. Derek wanted him to go anywhere he wanted for college because Derek didn’t want to hold him back and it was stupid because Stiles would just end up coming back to Beacon Hills and getting a job and living with Derek and looking after the Betas because that’s what he wanted - not some fancy college degree that would sit and rot and mock the fact that Stiles had left his perfect Pack and life in Beacon Hills for four years for absolutely nothing. Derek was also under the misinterpretation that “anywhere he wanted” to go for college was extremely far away. 

“You don’t get it, do you Derek?” Stiles was shouting because he had had enough. He was at his wit’s end because it was a useless fight that usually ended with emotionally-wounded Betas and a grumpy Alpha along with a pissed off Stiles. 

“I get the fact that you’re throwing away any chance of a future!” 

Stiles was hurt. “Y-you think I’m throwing my future away by not going to college? Derek, I don’t know what you see in my future but whatever it is clearly isn’t the same as what I see.” Derek was being dense to what Stiles was trying very hard not to outright say but he was done with beating around the bush when it came to Derek and emotions. 

Just because Derek didn’t discuss feelings outright like a normal person (Stiles had to remember that actually he wasn’t a normal person and sometimes he was more wolf than human), didn’t mean that Stiles couldn’t pour his head and heart out for Derek to stew in.

Derek looked confused and tired and so close to being defeated, “What do you mean?” He was growling and Stiles almost cooed because he hadn’t seen his partner so perplexed in such a long time, even though Derek still had trouble with verbalising his thoughts. 

“When I imagine the future I don’t think about having some hotshot job in a city with a big degree in some stupid shit I couldn’t really care about. I see myself here, right here, Derek. I see myself five years from now making Saturday Pack Breakfast. I see myself ten years from now watching you play with the Beta’s kids. I see myself fifteen years from now lying on that exact couch with you. Whatever job I have, or don’t have, doesn’t matter. Whatever degree I get now won’t make a difference. Do you see what I’m saying?” 

Derek looked floored, absolutely stunned. His ignorance to the situation and feelings was understood by Stiles. Derek hadn’t been loved in a long time, not really since his family and that was heartbreaking in itself. But, Derek was also drawn to being self-deprecating, which also came with him thinking he was the cause for every single terrible thing - no matter the size - that happened in anyone’s life. “I- I just thought you didn’t want to stick around and carry on like this because you could do so much more.”

Stiles moved to sit down next to Derek, their knees bumping, “Der, there’s no point in me going on and doing something ‘so much more’ if I can’t come home to this house and tell you about it all. My future is with the Pack and with you, it doesn’t matter if I end up with no degree, as long as I have here then I’ll be fine.” 

Derek looked close to crumbling. Stiles got it, he really did; the guy wasn’t used to being the centre of anyone’s attention and emotions like this, created by Stiles, still made him a little anxious. “You’ll always have here, and the Pack. You’ll always have me as long as you want me, okay? Stiles, if you want to go to college then I want you to know that I support you. I’d support anything you wanted.” 

“So you’ll shut up about college?” He got a nod in response. “Good, because I got accepted to Berkely which is super close. Scott’s doing an internship with Deaton. Lydia and Jackson are going to a college about fifty minutes away from here; she got a scholarship for some fancy science and criminology degree and Jackson got a full-ride for lacrosse and law. They say they’ll come back every weekend for breakfast. Erica and Allison got into Berkeley too, Isaac’s doing internet courses for law with an internship with my Dad. Boyd’s got an internship at the local garage, thanks to you.” 

Derek just nodded again. “So, they’re still going to be here?” 

Stiles kissed his temple, “Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to say.” Derek was scared of losing his Pack because they were just kids, he thought they’d grow up and get jobs in different cities and move on and forget. They probably would have if they hadn’t been turned into werewolves at the mere age of sixteen but they were and their priorities were different now. They understood that jobs and titles and income weren’t the most important things in life. Derek didn’t think they defined Pack like he did. He also didn’t know was that he was dead wrong. 

What he also didn’t know was that Lydia cried on Stiles’ shoulder for half hour because she thought fifty minutes away was far too long and what if she needed them? Jackson came up to him and just hugged him quietly afterwards, Stiles knew he wouldn’t stray too far from the Pack. 

Scott looked so happy when he got an internship with Deaton because ‘I don’t have to leave, Stiles, how awesome is that?’ 

Allison, Erica and him had sat down and weighed the pros and cons of local college and Erica said she couldn’t afford to get to a fancy college or any kind of college, really. She wasn’t the most academic so she was on board for this plan after they helped her through some tears and financial aid papers. Allison didn’t want to leave her dad alone for too long and staying near Beacon Hills was probably best because she got her dad, the Pack and her boyfriend. Stiles gave them practically the same speech he gave Derek. 

Boyd told him that he was ‘worried’ about leaving and he didn’t really know what he wanted to do, so Stiles sorted him out with the carshop because Derek and him could often be found bonding over the Camaro. 

Isaac loved the Sheriff, he wanted to keep people happy and safe and he was the only one that was damn sure of what he wanted to do. Stiles had never been so proud of him before. 

It wasn’t perfect but it was perfect for them. Their parents weren’t entirely happy but a lot of them were a little relieved that their kids weren’t leaving the state. 

“Derek, you’re not going to lose your Pack. They need you just as much as you need them, we all do.” The only answer Stiles got was a slow kiss that tried to convey all of Derek’s words for him. One of Derek’s hands would cradle his face while the other grasped as his hip. His lips would work slow and teasingly, teeth lightly biting his boyfriend’s lip. 

\------

It was a normal Sunday morning in the Hale house with Stiles in bed; a mug of black coffee on the nightstand, his college books in a pile on the floor, laptop propped up in his lap and Derek lying next to him, watching television. 

Somewhere downstairs, Erica and Boyd were discussing their schedules for the week ahead as Derek informed Stiles. He guessed they were in the kitchen, Erica liked to cook Boyd breakfast before his early morning shifts. Isaac was in his room, revising for some test he had. Lydia and Jackson were in their room, probably finishing off some school work before packing up to get back to their dorms. 

It was about as routine as it could get. Scott and Allison didn’t stay last night and it was suspected that they were probably curled up in Scott’s room being pathetically and admirably busy in love. 

Derek turned onto his side, hand holding his head up as he whined out his boyfriend’s name. “You’re supposed to be quiet and subdued in the morning, Der. This is working time, just because you don’t have a job that requires you all the time.” Derek had picked up some casual shifts at the garage with one of his dad’s old friends during the week, when the Pack was dispersed through the state gaining knowledge. Boyd worked there too which made it easier for the both of them. 

“It’s college, not a job. You don’t pay for a job.” 

Stiles waved his hand dismissively, turning back to typing on his laptop. He was so close to finishing up this essay. “Whatever, I told you I’ll get a job soon, quit your whining, snookums.” Derek nuzzled into his hip as he continued writing. One more paragraph and he could focus on the insanely hot and unfathomably sweet guy lying in bed next to him. 

“I told you that you don’t need to get a job, at least wait until you’re out of college. Just finish up your course and then you can think about all of that,” It was muffled by the skin and boxer material surrounding Derek’s lips. 

Stiles gnawed on his bottom lip as he tried to find that word that he needed. He snapped his fingers and finished his sentence. “Fine, but you know how I feel about how little money I put into groceries and stuff.”

“You don’t even live here,” Derek murmured, fingers running along the boy’s thigh. 

“But I spend enough time here and eat enough food to basically count as living here.” Derek just shook his head, as much as he could whilst lying down. Stiles shushed him and reread what he’d just written so he could carry on. 

He stretched after fifteen minutes and craned his neck. Shutting down his laptop with a victorious grin on his face, he scratched his stomach and rolled onto his side so that his eyes were on the same level as the blue one’s staring at him. “‘M all yours now.” A slow, small smile spread on Derek’s face as he leaned in to kiss Stiles. 

There was a knock on the door and Stiles let out a little groan, slumping forward to land on Derek’s chest. “Come in.” 

“Cute,” Jackson drawled, rolling his eyes no doubt. Stiles stayed where he was as he heard Lydia’s heels hitting the floor, advancing on them in their sanctuary of sheets and warmth. 

“We’re gonna head back now, okay? We’ll try and be down next weekend again. Thanks for letting us stay, Derek.” Lydia had to be grateful enough for the both of them so Stiles rolled over to look up at the redhead. 

Derek sat up, rubbing his eyes, “You know you’re welcome here whenever, you’re Pack.” The rumble was clear in his voice. 

“It was nice to see you guys, but he’s right, this is home. Just come visit when you can.” They’d managed to come home one weekend out of every two which was working well for everyone. Pack breakfasts continued along with phone calls from the missing couple during that time. 

Lydia bent down and kissed both boys on their cheeks whilst Jackson stood in the doorway and waved his goodbye. Derek wanted until he heard the front door close and Jackson’s car start up before shimmying back down into Stiles’ arms and burrowing his head into the crevice created by Stiles’ shoulder and neck. 

“Hey, so I’ve finished my paper and I only have one lecture tomorrow so I’m gonna drive back and spend the afternoon with my dad, probably make sure he’s eating okay. You want to come round for dinner?” Derek hummed into the warm skin under his lips. “I’m taking that as a yes because it sounded like a positive sound so yeah, you’re coming.” 

“Except I’m not.” Derek winced after a moment and Stiles felt it against his skin, he jostled his shoulder so that Derek had to look at him. “Isaac didn’t enjoy that comment.” Stiles chuckled darkly and rolled onto Derek, straddling his waist. 

“You could be - coming, ya know,” Stiles whispered and hears a faint yell from downstairs. Derek groaned, bucking his hips a little. 

“They’re both really not a fan of where this is going,” Derek’s voice cracks in the middle and it sounds so raw. Stiles kisses under his boyfriend’s ear and drags his hips lightly over Derek’s. A slow, building growl was emitted into the air and Derek flipped them over, “Screw ‘em.” 

\------

Stiles was prepping for his final exams and fuck was he excited to get college over with. Erica and Allison were lying on the Hale House’s front room floor, books spread around them along with bowls of chips and cans of sugary drinks. “Stiles, I don’t care if I fail, I quit.” Stiles rolled his eyes from inside the kitchen where he was replenishing his caffeine. 

“Bullshit, Erica. You want to graduate and you want to do it in style.” Erica flipped him off as he returned to his seat next to her, opening his mythology book. He’d been able to do double majors - Mythology & Folklore and English Literature. Allison was majoring in Child Psychology and minoring in English Literature so they’d been able to help each other out. Whilst Erica had taken a major in Law and a minor in a business course she’d taken a fancy to. Erica was doing well, she was good at law and damn if she couldn’t be persuasive at time - it wasn’t like she didn’t use her appearance to the best of its ability. 

Anyway, cramming for exams had become their life for the past two weeks and Derek, Boyd and Isaac were hiding away in separate rooms, trying not to cause one of the students to explode. They were understandably irritable, their bloodstreams were made of mostly caffeine and sugar whilst their diets had turned from home-cooked meals to take out and microwavable pots of food. It wasn’t ideal, for any of them. Scott had finished his internship and was working full time at the vet surgery whilst Boyd was qualified to work on cars without supervision. Isaac was earning his badge in less than two weeks and was damn confident in his ability to do so. He was kind of in love with the idea of working with the Sheriff after finishing at the Academy. 

Derek was at Stiles’ house more than he was at his own. He was looking after the Sheriff for his ma-Stiles. Derek wasn’t the best cook but whatever he could make was a hell of a lot better than the grease dripping fries he saw the Sheriff eyeing up earlier. “Derek, how’s he doing?”

“Stiles? He’s uh, working hard. He’s basically filled to the brim with caffeine but he seems pretty focused and calm about his exams and papers - or as focused as he can be, you know? What did you have for lunch?”

The Sheriff sat down at the kitchen table and chuckled, “Son, you don’t have to do all this. But alright, I had a chicken salad, Melissa brought it in.” Derek nodded and resumed going through the cupboards and fridge, trying to make up some kind of reasonable recipe in his mind. 

“I do have to do this; you’re Stiles’ family and you’re pack. Okay, good, is pasta bake good for dinner?”

The Sheriff fake-gasped, “With all that cheese? Oh you do spoil me, Hale.” 

Derek just hid his grin by getting out a saucepan and filling it with water, putting it on the gas to boil. “I’ll tell Stiles about the cookies you’ve been hiding in the back of the cruiser.” 

“Pure evil.” 

Derek patted the man’s shoulder as he went to retrieve pasta from a cupboard, “Tough love, Sir.” The Sheriff just watched as Derek continued to cook the pasta and then get out a creamy, tomato sauce tucked into the back of a cupboard. 

The Sheriff was completely shocked to come home one day and see Derek Hale hovering about in his kitchen, the oven turned on and the table set. It was weird, even by Beacon Hills’ standards. Derek explained that Stiles’ was worried about how you’d be eating but then just told the Sheriff about how he was burning a hole into Derek’s front room with his revision and coffee and that he was basically ignoring anything that didn’t involve studying, staying awake or finishing his thesis. The Sheriff was informed that this meant ignoring when normal feeding times were, because eating leftover pad thai at 2am on a Wednesday was completely normal, or at least that’s what Stiles had said when Derek came down at 7am to get a drink and he was still awake. Derek figured that Stiles would feel ridiculous and guilty after college when he realised how he’d just let his dad fend for himself so Derek had actually offered to make sure his Dad was okay. 

It wasn’t meant to be a big deal but Stiles had stopped pouring his coffee and turned to look at Derek, taking his face between his hands. “Damn, I’m lucky.” Then he’d kissed Derek’s nose and finished filling his mug. “There’s a list on the fridge about what he’s supposed to eat. Do not let him get take out just because you respect him or whatever, be ruthless. If he argues just flash some fang.” Then Stiles was back in his spot on the front room floor, typing away on his laptop. 

“...Flash some- You’re stupid,” Derek had huffed, and then left his house where he came second-best to school and went to wallow with the Sheriff about how they were being completely ignored. 

“There’s a game on tonight, you wanna watch?” 

Derek nearly dropped the dish of pasta bake as he was putting it into the oven, grated cheese completely hiding all evidence of food underneath it. Sure, Derek and him had watched a few games together before but never just the two of them. “S-sure. You want some garlic bread?” 

The Sheriff smirked at him and lifted his beer to signal towards the fridge, “Not allowed.”

“Give me the cookies, promise to eat some salad with your dinner and we’ll act like the garlic bread didn’t happen, Sir.” 

“I like your thinking, Son.” Derek chuckled and stuck the garlic bread in the oven as well, then went to work on opening a beer for himself. “Call me John, okay kiddo?” Derek just nodded as he felt the familiar weight of the Sheriff’s hand on his shoulder. Suddenly he didn’t feel like he was intruding by trying to help Stiles, he felt comfortable with John next to him as they waited for the cheese to melt on their dinner. He could get used to this, spending time with his boyfriend’s father with food and football. 

He saw what the rest of the pack saw in the Sheriff - a safe authority figure that would stick up for them. Maybe he couldn’t offer advice like his son could and he couldn’t stitch them back up like Melissa could but he could pat them on the back and give them that look that told them ‘you did good, kid’. Sometimes, Derek could appreciate how much the Pack needed that, how even sometimes he needed that himself. 

They ate dinner on the sofa, a plate of garlic bread between them and the game on the television in front of them. Derek cleared the plates afterwards, threw the rubbish in the bin and wrapped up the leftovers to take back to whoever hadn’t eaten yet. 

John pulled him in for a hug, thanked him and handed over the cookies that were half eaten. The Alpha left with the promise of forcing Stiles to take a break and visit his dad and Derek didn’t think he’d ever seen the Sheriff look so content. 

\------

“I’m free!” That was Stiles’ cry as he flew into his father’s arms after graduating. 

After the usual photos and hugs and goodbyes, everyone drove back to the Hale house for dinner because they hadn’t been able to all be together for a while. Erica and Allison were beaming to each other as they sat with their respective partners, glad to finally be away from the stress of college. Stiles was talking with father about what he’d missed while he was in his caffeine coma and Lydia and Jackson were waiting at home, having graduated three days prior. 

Boyd and Isaac had been preparing dinner at Stiles’ request before he had left that morning so when the gang got home, Stiles took over where they’d left off before leaving. Derek left everyone in the front room to find Stiles who was cracking some eggs. “Hey, how you feeling?”

“Old, I have to get a job and stuff.” Derek huffed a laugh onto the back of Stiles’ neck as he wrapped his arms around him. “Don’t laugh, just because you’ve got it all figured out now. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that my father has been eating stuff he shouldn’t be.” 

“I had dinner with him last night, we had pizza.”

“Pizza?” Stiles turned around and glared at Derek. 

“That I made, with real tomatoes and onion and some chicken and peppers and mushrooms. Calm down, he’s not as unwillingly as you make him out to be. Hey what are you- Oh my god, are you making breakfast?” 

Stiles smirked at him, “Yep.” Derek kissed his cheek before leaving. Breakfast had been bypassed for revision and stacks of toast and an assortment of cereals. So that night, the Pack sat down for the biggest breakfast they’d ever had and Stiles sat with his back on Derek’s chest, watching everyone eat and laugh and converse whilst munching on bacon. Derek kept an arm around the lanky boy’s frame whilst the other held his fork, feeding both himself and Stiles bits off his plate. It was everything they’d been missing over the past three weeks and it was perfect. 

Derek leant down as he reached slightly grab a waffle from the plate next to him, “Have you spoken to your dad about moving?” 

Stiles turned to him with the dopiest smile on his face as he broke off a piece of waffle, “Told him before I started my second year of college, buddy. You may have missed the memo, but I’m pretty sure most of my stuff is already here.” Derek slapped his boyfriend’s hand away as it went back for more of his waffle. 

“Guess I’m not getting rid of you any time soon then, huh?” 

“No chance, snookums.” Stiles kissed the edge of his jaw and patted his knee. 

\------

Stiles still spent time with his father in his childhood home, making dinner for him and coming home to catch him between shifts to make sure he was looking after himself. It was easy, it was like nothing had changed except Stiles didn’t sleep at home at all anymore. 

He wasn’t going to complain, waking up every morning to Derek next to him was never going to get old. Watching Derek stumble out of bed, bleary eyed with bed hair and a bare chest was always going to be one of the best sights. 

Making lunch for the Pack when they were home was nice, making them dinner was nice, movie nights with them was nice. Living there was making Stiles content, he was revelling in the fact that he was needed and appreciated and Derek loved seeing the smile on the boy’s face. Derek would go to work and come home to Stiles sitting on the sofa, reading a book whilst Erica was curled up at his feet, flicking through TV channels. 

Erica had gotten a job with a small lawyers firm in town and Stiles had gotten a job at his college, where he was helping to teach a few classes whilst archiving their materials and books. He loved it; being focused on the paper and words and getting free reign on all that information and organising it. He was really good at it too. 

They’d settled into some sort of routine where they all knew each other’s schedules and would work around it all to spend time with each other, it was good and easy and Derek loved it. They were their own family and he knew that this one would continue to grow. 

Arguments became more common between the Pack but they were childish and usually diffused with a ludicrous comment or crude joke. Jackson and Lydia had moved into the house for the time being before looking for their own apartment. It was more difficult living with them due to Lydia’s bossy and superior nature and how Jackson could be an asshole a lot of the time but they behaved and Derek was secretly sort of pleased that he got to spend more time with them. 

Pack would always be a big deal for Derek and he figured it was starting to mean the same for the Betas who would more often than not come to a Pack member when they had a problem - like when Erica lost her first case and came home, slamming doors. Stiles had merely looked up from grading his last paper and raised an eyebrow, “Wanna go to the Stilinski’s and slam our doors too?” Derek didn’t quite understand but it seemed to click for Erica who stopped looking angry and sat on the sofa next to Derek, her head on his shoulder. 

“We lost the case. I lost.” Then she proceeded to cry on Derek’s shoulder and they hugged and Erica looked so thankful for them and that night Erica sat down at the table and told them all about the case and Isaac told her that it sounded like it was kind of tough and that he bet she looked pretty badass in the court. It was nice. 

Lydia had gotten a job working for the police department as a forensic scientist where she basically dealt with the dead bodies and working out what happened to them, so she was kind of badass too. Her and Isaac seemed to get along better now that they had their work in common. 

Scott was more or less running the veterinary now as Deaton was trying to lighten his workload. Boyd and Derek were thinking about buying the garage for themselves as the owner said he was thinking of selling up and moving; Stiles was backing this idea with everything he had. 

Jackson had also joined the law firm but Erica and him worked in different departments which was probably a good thing for everyone involved. 

As a whole, the Pack was moving on up in the world. They had stable jobs, there was far less supernatural happenings going on and they seemed pretty damn happy. 

\------

They were lying in bed - hiding under the covers from the harsh January cold - when the doorbell went off on a Sunday, Stiles yawned and groaned, checking the time. So okay, he definitely hadn’t realised it was past 12. “Guess we better go downstairs, you know who it is?” 

“Of course.” Derek smirked and got out of bed, pulling some sweatpants over his boxers. He ignored Stiles’ mutter of ‘smartass’ and headed out of the room while the younger man flailed out of bed in exasperation and slipped on some pajama pants that were worn and too big. He nearly tripped over them as he walked downstairs, slipping one of Derek’s tops over his head. “Afternoon.” 

“Oh, hey Scott, Allison.” He hugged his best friend and kissed Allison on the cheek. Derek sat at the island, sipping a new mug of coffee and stared down at it like it was trying to talk to him. “What’s up?” 

Scott shrugged and went to rifle through the fridge, “You know you don’t live here, right?” Derek just got a snort in response to his snapping as Scott opened a chocolate bar and ate it. Stiles ran his hand down his boyfriend’s back, thoroughly confused at his behaviour. Derek just continue to nose at Stiles’ shoulder with a sigh. 

“Oh shush, you guys want some lunch?” 

Despite how his question was directed at the pair in front of him he got a loud shout of confirmation from the front room where Erica and Boyd were lounging around. He rolled his eyes but got started on getting ham and butter out of the fridge to make some sandwiches. Scott and Allison just laughed and said lunch sounded good. Derek politely, sort of, told them they could round up the other two and wait in the front room. 

“What is your problem? You were perfectly settled upstairs?” Stiles accusedly pointed his knife in the area of his Alpha and started muttering about how he was so grumpy and how he thought he was over this. 

Derek just stood and pulled plates out of the cupboard before cupping a hand over Stiles’ mouth. He pointed to the door and shook his head. As cute as seeing him distressed was, they couldn’t afford to be talking through ridiculous hand gestures so Stiles just raised his eyebrows and passed Derek a notepad that they kept on the side for grocery lists and a pen. 

Stiles finished assembling the sandwiches as Derek scrawled on the paper. “Chips or no chips?” He muttered, holding the cupboard door open and gazing at a packet. 

“They definitely want chips,” Derek huffed as he capped the pen. He pushed the pad forward and Stiles pushed the plates into Derek’s very capable hands so he could give them out. 

Allison smells different.

Derek was a werewolf, it was common knowledge that smell was important to them. But come on, if Derek really thought she was a threat then he would have acted on it because despite the fact she’s Pack, she’s still an Argent. That was something Derek would never forget. Stiles shook his head a little and scrawled underneath it “Rude! “

He hip checked his boyfriend as he left the kitchen. Derek followed after him, looking entirely sour, and gave out the sandwiches. The group ate mostly with small chat filling the room, then Scott abruptly got up and went into the kitchen. In a matter of seconds Derek excused himself to go to the bathroom but Stiles knew that was a blatant lie without even checking the beta’s faces who just looked down at their plates. “Anyone want a drink?”

Allison, who was completely oblivious to how weird this all was, just nodded and smiled softly at Stiles, asking for a lemonade please. Isaac asked for some tea and Stiles just waved his hand as if that was enough of a reply. He went into the kitchen, knowing the werewolves would hear him coming. 

Derek was glaring at the threshold before he even crossed it. “Stiles.”

“What the fuck is going on?”

Scott whined a little and rubbed his hand over his face, “She smells weird, dude. She doesn’t smell right.” 

“Oh so she changed her perfume or shampoo and suddenly she’s the alien of the group?” Derek groaned but Stiles continued. “No seriously, what’s happening? So what if she doesn’t smell like her usual odour of flowers and rainbows and sass?” 

“We can’t smell sass, sass isn’t an emotion, don’t be an idiot.” 

“Scott that was so not the point!” Derek laughed a little at how exasperated Stiles sounded. 

They couldn’t be standing in here for much longer without it all be way too suspicious so Stiles put the kettle on and put a teabag and two sugars in a mug, then rooted around the fridge for milk and lemonade. “It’s her scent, it smells off. Something’s changed. Part of your scent is built up of the people around you and the places you’ve been but it’s kind of a biological thing, sort of. I guess that’s how it works anyway. It’s like a database of everywhere you’ve been, everyone you’ve been in contact with and everything you’ve touched except a lot of it fades. You smell like us and the woods, there’s an underlying hint of anxiety and energy from your ADHD, it’s part of you. You smell like Pack and that ridiculous shampoo you like to use and like coffee. You smell comforting, to me at least.” Derek finished and managed to look a little embarrassed as he remembered Scott was still in the room. 

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that something has altered in Allison’s scent and it’s weird because it seems to have grown over a couple of days - Scott said he could smell little changes over time because he’s that attuned to his mate’s scent.” Stiles nodded and poured the lemonade into a glass. He gave it to Scott and told him to give it to Allison. 

He turned back to the counter and finished up Isaac’s tea with boiling water, “So what you mean is that it could be something biological? Like, she could be sick?” 

Derek shook his head, looking entirely frustrated with how human Stiles was being. “She’s not sick, it’s not a bad change. It’s weird like it smells good, not in a homey way, just that it doesn’t smell like a threat. It’s... actually really hard to explain but there’s something there.” Stiles fished out the tea bag, told Scott to bring Allison her lemonade and turned to Derek, eyes wide. “What? That doesn’t look- Stiles, what are you thinking?”

“Does she still smell entirely like her, just like something’s been added or has it changed in it’s entirety?” 

Derek closed his eyes and thought about it. After a minute or so, where Stiles added milk to the tea, he opened them and shook his head. “Extra.” Stiles nodded and hummed a little under his breath. He wrung his fingers together and grabbed the notebook quickly, tapping the pen harshly against the worktop. 

Something’s been added to her scent, so whatever it is must be added to her? Like a growth or something?

Derek didn’t qualify it with a verbal answer, just a nod of the head and a severely confused look, like he thought he knew where this was going but didn’t want to say anything that would make him look like an idiot. 

But it doesn’t smell like it’s bad for her; like she’s sick or whatever?

Stiles got the same reaction again but this time with raised eyebrows. 

Would you be able to smell if she was pregnant? Like would you be able to smell the baby?

Derek swore under his breath and stared at Stiles. “Maybe, I don’t know. I think I could smell it when my Aunt was-” Stiles launched himself at Derek, wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him. He pulled back and rested his lips against the cheek in front of him. 

“Don’t say it, don’t ruin this,” He muttered quietly against the skin, knowing the other werewolves in the house wouldn’t be able to hear it as it was muffled. 

Stiles pecked his cheek and then resumed to playing hostess, returning to the table smiling and passing off Isaac’s tea. Derek came in a moment later, saying he also threw out the trash while he was there. Stiles took this to mean he threw away their notes and he smiled up at him, happy that this would be a secret they didn’t spoil. 

Surprisingly, they didn’t spoil the surprise and about a month or so later Scott bounded into the house, Allison and Melissa in tow and the Sheriff wasn’t far behind. “Guys! Guys!” 

Derek looked away from where he was watching the film on TV to look down at Stiles curled up at his side, “So it begins.” Stiles just elbowed him lightly and laughed. 

“What’s up, big guy?” 

“No, no, where’s everyone else?” Allison grabbed Scott’s shoulder and made him stop his incessant jumping. “I’m just excited,” He was actually whining, like a puppy, goddamn. “Erica! Isaac! Jackson!” After a minute the three came down the stairs, grumbling about the noise, along with Boyd and Lydia. “Guys! Guess what?” 

“You know what, Scott? I got this.” Allison just stuck her tongue out as her fiance pouted. She pushed him down onto the armchair and then proudly looked around the room. “I’m pregnant!”

Melissa looked ready to burst into tears, “Oh sweetie! Congratulations!” There were hugs from everyone and kind words exchanged. Scott looked like he’d won the lottery and Stiles just hugged him. 

“You’re gonna be a daddy, man. That’s huge. I’m so proud of you, dude.” They hugged a little longer than usual and Derek heard the small whisper of ‘thanks’ that Scott replied with, sounding a little choked up. Stiles returned to where he was under Derek’s arm and looked a little emotional himself. 

“Did you tell your dad?” The Sheriff asked, as Lydia and Allison broke apart from a hug. 

The brunette nodded, “We went there before we came here, I figured that it would be best if we didn’t bring him along with us.” Derek smiled shyly at Allison, he knew it was for his benefit and he was grateful. Stiles just squeezed his hand, looking completely natural. 

Then the group all sat down as Allison spoke to Erica and Lydia about how they were moving the wedding to two months time instead of three. Scott just stood behind Allison, beaming. 

\------

The end of the next year was Erica and Boyd’s wedding. Just like Scott and Allison’s it was held at the Hale house. Scott and Isaac had spent the day before trailing fairy lights around doorways and the staircase and just generally on every wall. Derek had gone out and bought balloons and flowers to put in the front room where the ceremony was being held due to the cold winter weather (and of course Stiles laughed a little because ol’ broody Derek Hale was going and buying flowers and if that didn’t convince anybody that he was a big softie than nothing could). Boyd had insisted on a wedding in November because that was the month that they’d gotten together and that was the month he’d proposed to her during. It was pretty sweet and Derek was proud that Boyd was clearly the exact guy for Erica; who had rolled her eyes, swatted his shoulder and told him he was such a loser. Yet he’d smelled the tears in her eyes and seen the smile that had graced her face when he told her all that. 

Allison, Erica and Lydia had all slept at Lydia’s apartment the night before whilst Jackson and Boyd slept in the Hale house. Jackson was helping blow up balloons and arrange them whilst Stiles was in the kitchen with Georgina McCall and her grandma. Georgina, or Georgie as they’d all taken to calling her, was nearly a year and a half old and was trying her damned hardest to talk. 

“Da-da.” Stiles rolled his eyes and scooped her up in his arms, rubbing his nose against her stomach, making her legs kick and a giggle fall from her mouth. Melissa was helping Stiles get the food ready for that evening. It wasn’t anything big, a buffet kind of style thing because there wasn’t many people coming; the Pack, Boyd’s grandmother, Erica’s parents and that’s pretty much it as far as Stiles could remember. Neither of them had wanted anything big, they already had the most important people there and that’s all they’d really needed, or at least that’s what they’d said. 

“Say Stiles; Sti-els; Sti-els!” No matter how clearly he enunciated or how he drawled out the syllables in his name, Georgie refused to repeat it. Although she’d seemed to master ‘Der’ after tackling ‘Mom’ with a drawn out ‘m’ and ‘Da-da’. Derek was pretty smug about it all and Stiles would try and be a little mad about it but he will never forget the face he made when she said it, poking her finger on his nose as he held her. Stiles is never going to be able to get mad when Derek smiles all dopily and scrunches his nose up, pretending to growl at the little girl who squeals and pushes her hands on Derek’s face, who then proceeds to act like he’s eating them. Stiles isn’t even sure that he has the same boyfriend anymore. 

Scott was Georgie’s father so of course she was a werewolf but she wasn’t unruly or completely incapable of controlling herself. She rarely wolfed out and Derek had said it was because she was too young to realise anything that was going on in her body, she didn’t notice the pull of the moon or whatever because at that age she was just focused on eating, playing and sleeping. It was pretty damn good as well because they did not need her having a tantrum in the middle of the supermarket and fangs suddenly coming into play. 

Stiles heard Derek laughing from where he was setting up the decorations and the boy just grumbled in response, Over a few hours all the food was prepared and the boys had put on all their suits. Boyd, who was usually the calm one, was pretty nervous. He claimed it was because he wanted everything to be perfect and he was told to ‘chill out’ because everything was perfect. Boyd had laughed, cuffed Jackson on the back of the head and waited downstairs for his bride to arrive.

Georgie had her nap whilst Stiles and Melissa had finished the last of the food and then Scott gave her her lunch whilst the two got dressed for the occasion. She was then dressed into a pretty lilac dress with a little band for her head with a flower on - it matched the girls’ dresses and she looked absolutely adorable in it. Melissa held her as she waved everyone into their places and waited outside for the rest of them to arrive. 

The wedding pretty much went on without a fault and Stiles stole a dance with Erica when she was free. “Hey Mom.” 

“You look absolutely beautiful, Erica,” She laughed, puffed out a little ‘thank you’ and rested her cheek on his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you guys, you’re all grown up now, hitched and everything.” 

“Thanks for helping out and stuff, thanks for taking care of Derek too. Just- Just, thanks, Stiles. You’re a good guy.” Now it was Stiles’ turn to laugh. “You’ve been really good to us all, even when we were all stupid assholes who didn’t trust you and basically just pushed you around - you never let it affect you. You guys are good for each other.” Stiles saw Derek looking at them over the bride’s shoulder and he grinned, knowing the alpha could hear all of their conversation. 

“Well, I like to think we are. He’s pretty much the only one who could put up with me, you know? We just work.” He heard a faint ‘yeah, you do’ mumbled into his collar. “You and Boyd are pretty damn good too, I would never expected it but you are.” 

There was a tap on his shoulder as the song ended and he looked up to see his other half smiling down at them, “May I?” Stiles kissed Erica’s cheek and they loosened their embrace as Derek replaced Stiles. 

“Hey Pops,” Erica smiled up at her alpha. 

Derek grinned back, brushing a bit of hair behind her ear, “Hey Mrs Boyd, how does it feel?” 

“Like I’m losing my independence,” Derek laughed over Boyd’s shout of ‘I heard that’. “Nah, it’s nice. I feel like it’s finally coming together. I like it, our life with the Pack and everything else but it’s nice for everyone else to recognise our relationship as being that serious.” 

Derek nodded, his chin messing her hair a little. “I’m happy for the both of you. Are you guys planning on moving out now that you’re married?” 

“Oh, I didn’t know you-” 

Derek caught the hurt that tinged his beta’s scent and shook his head, letting his fingers brush her neck, “I just meant, do you want to move out considering you’re starting your own family and stuff? Stiles and I would miss you, of course and you’d always be welcome. You don’t have to, I just thought I’d let you know that you’re not chained to the house like you are to the Pack.” Erica nodded, kissed Derek’s cheek. 

“I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon, Pops. Maybe when we actually start a family. But, I like it in our house. It’s safe.” Derek felt a surge of pride at that; he did his damndest to keep his Pack safe. It was nice to know that they considered the Hale house to be home, to be a place of refuge and safety. 

“It’ll always be your home, Erica, despite where choose you live.” 

\------

It took three years for Erica and Boyd to finally start their own family. James Boyd was delivered a week later than anticipated, making sure he cut his way into November. Boyd preened at the fact his baby boy was born in that special month. 

James was now a babbling one year old and Georgie was nearly five. Everyone was crashed out in various rooms of the Hale house as the night before was the anniversary party for Erica and Boyd and a sort of birthday party for James. 

Stiles and Derek were awake, lying in bed together. The house was silent to Stiles but Derek sighed, burrowing his face into Stiles’ neck, “James is awake.” 

“Mmm- Uncle Stiles, Uncle Der.” Georgie stumbled into their room as Derek got out of bed to get James out of the room he was sleeping in. Erica and Boyd took good care of their boy but they were exhausted from looking after him and working so hard so Saturday mornings was their time off, of sorts. Georgie wasn’t usually here in the mornings due to Scott and Allison not living in the Hale house but Stiles smiled at the sleepy girl and threw back the comforter, beckoning her in with his arms. 

“Hey sweetie, you just woke up?” 

She immediately snuggled into Stiles’ side, sniffing for his scent. “Mmhm, are we having breakfast, Uncle Stiles?” Stiles wrapped an arm around her, protectively. 

“Of course, baby girl. Uncle Der and I need to go shopping, you wanna come?” She nodded and Derek returned, the small baby in his arms, bundled up in blue and white blankets. “Guess we have our hands full this morning, snookums.” Derek rolled his eyes at the old pet name but slipped into bed and let James rest on his propped up legs as he stroked Georgie’s hair. 

Turns out that taking two kids on a trip to the supermarket isn’t all that easy. Georgie was hungry, as she’d told them about a hundred times already but Stiles promised her first helpings at the table if she was good for them. She had accepted that offer and nodded promptly, looking up and holding out her hand for Stiles. Derek pushed the cart around the shop, James napping in the babyseat. 

“Okay, we need to get some potatoes, you want to count out some potatoes for me?” Georgie obliged and Stiles opened up a plastic bag for her to count the vegetables into. Derek smiled at the pair; the Pack was their family and Stiles loved it. He loved being able to look after people and having them appreciate it but he also loved being able to have a break from it all if he wanted. Derek enjoyed having a big family around him again, the sounds of kids playing in the garden or running around the house was a comfort. Allison was pregnant again and Derek was actually excited for the new baby to be born. 

The couple was happy with the arrangement, it was a relief that this was good enough for them because sure, they could adopt but how would they explain the state of their family to the child as it grew up? They could try a surrogate but that would mean only one of them being a father to the child and Derek’s wolf bristled at the thought of someone else - a stranger - conceiving his or Stiles’ child. 

Georgie bounded back to Derek, dumping the bag in the cart. “Uncle Der, we have six potatoes!” 

“Six? Wow, did you count all of those yourself?” Derek asked her with wide eyes and a smile as she bounced next to him. 

“Yeah!” 

“Aren’t you a clever little girl!” Derek grinned and poked her nose. She grabbed Stiles’ hand once more and they moved down to the next aisle, “Georgie, you want to get a loaf of bread for us, please?” She nodded, released her hold on Stiles and raced towards the shelf of bread, looking like she was having a super hard time picking out the right one. 

Derek absentmindedly stroked the soft brown curls on James’ head as he whined a little in his sleep, his alpha’s touch calming him. An old lady passed them with a bright shine in her eyes and Stiles gave her a kind smile, Derek still completely lost in watching over Georgie. 

“Beautiful family, you boys should be proud, absolutely wonderful,” She patted Stiles shoulder as she passed and Derek only turned as she was leaving. Derek’s hand was covered by a much thinner, paler hand on the cart’s bar and was given a short squeeze. 

“We’ve done pretty well,” Stiles sighed, his head leaning on Derek’s shoulder for a moment. Their fingers stayed intertwined as Stiles bent down to inspect Georgie’s choice of bread. “Awesome job, sweetie.” 

Derek watched as Stiles ruffled her light brown hair and pointed over to the display of fruit juice and asking her if she could pick the flavour she wanted. She bounced off once again, eager to help her uncles - her Pack. Stiles returned to his full height, leaning on his boyfriend, his mate. He gently hushed the stirring baby in front of him, running his fingers over his head, and lazily turned to catch Derek’s gaze. A shy smile graced his face then he continued to fuss over James, casually glancing to the werewolf next to him. 

Derek looked over to the little girl who was picking between orange juice and apple juice and back at the man next to him who was smiling softly down at their nephew. He wrapped an arm around the man’s waist, pulling him a little closer and kissed his temple. “Yeah, I’ve done pretty well,” Derek whispered, kissing Stiles’ cheek.


End file.
